Jack Dorsey wants Bitcoin as the “native currency” of Twitter

• Jack Dorsey touted bitcoin as the “best candidate” to become the “native currency” of the internet
• He believes it could help Twitter move faster in product expansions and claims it is important shareholders to continue to look at the crypto space and invest aggressively in it
• It was the first time that Dorsey has spoken publicly about how Twitter could integrate bitcoin into its product lineup

During The B Word event last week, Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey along with Tesla CEO Elon Musk spoke at length about the future of Bitcoin — commending the cryptocurrency and its potential to change more than just monetary systems globally. The two technology influencers did more than just demystify and destigmatize mainstream narratives about Bitcoin — the cryptocurrency enthusiasts also explained how institutions can embrace it. 

Dorsey in particular has high hopes for the future of the cryptocurrency. “My hope is that it creates or helps create world peace,” he said. “It’s going to be long-term, but my hope is definitely peace.” Few days later, during the Twitter earnings call, Dorsey took the chance to announce to investors that Bitcoin will be a “big part” of the company’s future.

Oh man, Jack Dorsey says he thinks Bitcoin is key to Twitter's future. Says it will "ensure people and companies can freely trade goods and services anywhere on the planet"

— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) July 22, 2021

Does Jack Dorsey plan to integrate crypto on Twitter?

The company’s chief says he sees opportunities to integrate the cryptocurrency into existing Twitter products and services, including commerce, subscriptions and other new additions like the Twitter Tip Jar and Super Follows. It may have been apparent how Dorsey has been a staunch Bitcoin advocate for years but it wasn’t until last week he dubbed Bitcoin one of three key trends for Twitter’s future, along with artificial intelligence (AI) and decentralization — the latter which Twitter is pursuing through its “Bluesky” initiative.

He touted Bitcoin as the “best candidate” to become the “native currency” of the internet. So “I think it’s hugely important to Twitter and to Twitter shareholders that we continue to look at the space and invest aggressively in it,” he added. Experts claim it is essentially the first time that Dorsey has spoken publicly about how Twitter could integrate Bitcoin into its product lineup.

What about  Square’s DeFi application for Bitcoin?

Jack Dorsey said on Twitter that the company is “focused on building an open developer platform with the sole goal of making it easy to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services.” In short, Square is launching a business dedicated to “decentralized financial services” using bitcoin.

Square is creating a new business (joining Seller, Cash App, & Tidal) focused on building an open developer platform with the sole goal of making it easy to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services. Our primary focus is #Bitcoin. Its name is TBD.

— jack (@jack) July 15, 2021

The new unit will include the Seller, Cash App and recently acquired Tidal businesses. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, applications are those that don’t rely on centralized authorities like banks, but instead use blockchain-based smart contracts to execute transactions. Most are being built on the Ethereum blockchain.

Dorsey said the team is committed to building in a transparent way that includes an “open roadmap, open development, and open source.” In a follow-up tweet, he said, “Technology has always been a story of decentralization. From the printing press, to the internet to bitcoin – technology has the power to distribute power to the masses and unleash human potential for good, and I’m convinced this is the next step.”

DeFi applications allow for financial transactions that are more easily accessible, efficient and relatively low-cost. But like cryptocurrency activity in general, DeFi comes with many different kinds of risks, including regulatory concern, asset volatility, and the underlying technology itself. The current estimated value of funds locked into DeFi-related contracts is US$55.21 billion, according to DeFi Pulse.